Thompson Pass/Worthington

Thursday 6/9/11

4:00PM-8:00PM

Cloudy, 53F, 11mph winds

dwarf willow- Salix herbacea

crow berries- Empetrum rubrum

narcissus flowered anemone- Anemone narcissiflora

arctic willow- Salix arctica

common dandelion- Taraxacum officinale

green map lichen- Rhizocarpon geographicum

blackish oxytrope- Oxytropis nigrescens

low bush cranberry- Vaccinium vitis-idaea

dwarf blueberry- Vaccinium cespitosum

bell heather- Erica cinerea

alpine azalea- Loiseleuria procumbens

fir clubmoss- Huperzia selago

lapland diapensia- Diapensia lapponica

mountain avens- Dryas octopetala

Labrador tea- Ledum groenlandicum

frogs pelt- Peltigera neopolydactyla

alp lily- Lloydia serotina

small flowered painbrush- Castillja coccinea

moss campion- Silene acaulis

pale gentian- glaucous gentian

sitka alder- Alnus viridis

dwarf fireweed- Chamerion latifolium

Kamchatcha Rockcrest- Arabis kamchatica

black cottonwood- Populus trichocarpa

variable willow- Salix viminalis

There were a lot of cool things growing up on the pass. It was the only opportunity we had to explore the tundra. We were able to identify a lot of plants that we hadn't seen before. Most of the plants on the tundra are shorter than the ones we've seen before. The willows were very cool because we got to see the exposed roots that grow out from just below the surface. It's always dissapointing to see how much the glacier is receding. I remember it being a whole lot larger when I was a kid. There has even been a noticable change since I saw it last summer.